


in the sandbox, where we fell in love

by NoxWrites



Category: The Bold Type
Genre: F/F, Long lost lovers AU, childhood AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-20 06:38:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11915250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoxWrites/pseuds/NoxWrites
Summary: Adena gives a silent nod and turns to start walking. Kat walks up next to her and slips her hand in between hers, unknowingly giving Adena butterflies that only Kat can give.Even with Michael taking up most of the air time Adena enjoys the walk home as usual, Kat’s thumb rubbed soothing circles when Michael would speak too loud to calm her down and would squeeze her hand if she felt Adena might be drifting off into her own world.Kat grounded Adena, and she loved it. Michael on the other hand, she did not love. She prays it’s a one time thing as she opens her door and waves goodbye to Kat and Michael.orthe childhood au





	in the sandbox, where we fell in love

**Author's Note:**

> im trying to crank stuff out this weekend! here's my first kadena fic! hope you enjoy! I promise its minimal angst... or is it?

2nd Grade is difficult. 

 

She doesn’t enjoy the amount of other kids who think it’s okay to touch her camera. She doesn’t enjoy the minimal time outside. She doesn’t enjoy elementary school. 

 

She does enjoy her best friend, Kat Edison. 

 

The fifteenth day of 2nd grade is when Adena found herself sitting in the sandbox, designing shapes in the sand. Her little camera sitting down next to her until she’s ready to snap a picture. 

 

That is until Bernard decides to jump on that exact spot, splashing sand everywhere and making Adena’s design become smushed. She can feel her lip trembling, her eyes slowly watering as she thinks of her design being lost forever. 

 

Bernard scampers off somewhere so when Adena looks around she just sees each group of kids doing their own thing. She doesn’t know what to do. Her design is ruined and she doesn’t have anyone to help her. 

 

But then there’s Kat. She wanders over to Adena and sits a few feet in front of her in the sand. Her hands helping to flatten out the section Bernard had just destroyed. 

 

“I’m Kat! I saw you drawing. Can I draw too?” She doesn’t wait for a reply, she just pokes a finger into the sand and begins to swirl it about. 

 

Adena sniffles, wiping away her unshed tears and nods her head. Kat beams a blinding smile that makes Adena want to be as happy as her, but her design is ruined. 

 

The two begin their new designs at opposite ends but eventually it becomes large enough that they have to meet in the middle. Kat’s swirly and curvy lines begin to swirl into Adena’s square and sharp design. 

 

The two scrunch their eyebrows together when they realize the predicament, but after a moment Kat just smiles her blinding smile before getting up. She walks over to Adena’s side and sits next to her. 

 

“We could make it both. Not swirly and not straight. It’ll be like a new style all our own!” Kat claps

her hands excitedly, she takes Adena’s drawing hand in her own and begins to trace lines with both their hands connected. 

 

Adena doesn’t move her arm, she just watches on as Kat draws a not swirly but not straight design in the sand. She gets so focused that her little tongue peeks out between her lips and Adena silently giggles as it wiggles while Kat focuses. 

 

After a few minutes when they finally make the design stretch as far as they can without standing up, Adena wiggles backwards. She grips her little camera and puts it right up to her eye, with a squint and a quick head tilt she clicks the button. 

 

_ Click! _

 

She pulls it back to see the little number having changed from 30 to 29, knowing she used one of the slots in her film roll. She winds up the camera so it’s ready for the next photo before putting it back into the sand. 

 

“What was that?” Kat leans forward to look around Adena and at the camera. 

 

“That’s my camera my Mama got me.” Adena smiles at the item fondly. 

 

“My mom’s camera is a lot smaller than that.” Kat tilts her head as she ponders the difference. 

 

“That’s okay. They come in all different shapes and sizes. My Papa has a really big one! It’s like twenty feet long!” Adena stretches her arms out as wide as they can go to emphasize the size of the contraption. 

 

“That’s so cool! Can you take a photo of me?” Kat looks from the camera to Adena with a shy smile. 

 

“Okay! Just lean back a little.” Adena grabs the camera from her side and aims it towards Kat’s face. “Say cheese!” 

 

Kat speaks with a big smile on her face as Adena clicks the camera’s button. The small 29 turns to a 28 when Adena looks at it. 

 

“Why did I have to say cheese?” Kat scratches at her eyes with the back of her hands. 

 

“I don’t know. My Papa tells me to say it when he takes my picture.” Adena looks at the camera like it confused her but then just shrugs her shoulders and sets it in her lap. 

 

A loud bell rings out from the middle of the school playground and, all at different speeds, kids begin to leave the playground to head to their classes. 

 

“Who’s your teacher?” Kat stands up, offering a hand to help Adena up once she’s steady. 

 

“I have Ms. Buchanan.” Adena tries twice to pronounce the name and smiles when she successfully does so on the second attempt. 

 

Kat pouts as they walk towards the second grader building. “I have Ms. Tiller.” 

 

They know it means they won’t have class together but they don’t really know what else that means. Before parting ways to the two different classrooms Kat turns on her heel and sticks a hand out to Adena. 

 

“It was nice to meet you! You’re my friend now. So we can talk at lunch and stuff.” Adena slowly reaches out but once her hand connects with Kat it’s shaken furiously. 

 

—

 

Middle school is difficult. 

 

She tries to fit in, she has her friends and she has Kat. Kat always walks home and to school with Adena, they only have one class together for the first semester but it’s right before lunch so they go eat together. Kat has started becoming a social butterfly though, a third or fourth person may join them at lunch at just random points without introducing themselves or anything. 

 

Kat tries to talk to them as quickly as possible before whisking them away but Adena still sits in awkward silence during that time. She’ll always watch Kat talk and becomes entranced with the way her cheeks curve but anyone with eyes would be captured by kat’s beauty. 

 

“Sorry about that.” Kat shakes her head and gestures to her two classmates who are now walking towards the cafeteria. 

 

Adena and her sit outside under the sun most days, Adena will have her camera with her and take twenty to thirty shots a day depending on how awake she is at the moment. Today though she is very awake, so once she finishes her sandwich and juice her camera is immediately in her hands. 

 

As always she starts with Kat, her friend entertains her with silly poses and candid shots. After a while Adena starts to look at the grass, trees and plants that surround them on the school’s field. 

 

Her hands steady as a ladybug lands on the bush to their left, her shutter fires off as she click the button. She flashes Kat a smile before going into the menu and selecting the photo. Kat extends her arms to see the shot that Adena took.

 

A look of surprise graces her face as she clicks back and forth between two shots. “Adena, holy shit! Look at this.” She turns the screen to Adena and shows the two photos she’s gawking over.

 

The ladybug was in the midst of take off, it’s wings spreading and first two legs just extended off the leaf. The next is the ladybug as it had just leaped off, it’s legs tucked under its body and it’s wings fully extended.

 

“These are amazing.” Kat exclaims. “You should join yearbook!” 

 

Adena takes the camera back and looks at the photos a few more times, “You think?” 

 

The bell rings in the midst of their conversation and so they rise for a hug before splitting off to go to their last class of the day. Adena walks past the yearbook room on her way to class, she grabs a form before hurrying off to Honors Biology. 

 

Her thoughts during class are far from the coding of genetics in DNA and RNA. She stares at the form for yearbook and begins to scribble answers to some of the questions. The bottom of the form asks her to include some of her work if she has any, she considers the photos that sit in an envelope at the base of her bag but realizes Ms. Dawne wouldn’t want over twenty photos of Kat’s face and a photo of Kat’s new puppy. 

 

She puts the application in her backpack, sliding it onto her shoulders as the final bell rings and she makes her way to the spot she meets Kat to walk home. When she hears Kat approach she turns with a smile that fades as a young guy jogs up next to her and continues to walk next to her until she’s with Adena.

 

“Adena, this is Michael! Michael, this is Adena.” Kat does the quick introduction and allows for them to shake hands before speaking again. “Would it be alright if Mike walked home with us? I have a project in Honors Literature that he was going to help with.”

 

Adena gives a silent nod and turns to start walking. Kat walks up next to her and slips her hand in between hers, unknowingly giving Adena butterflies that only Kat can give. 

 

Even with Michael taking up most of the air time Adena enjoys the walk home as usual, Kat’s thumb rubbed soothing circles when Michael would speak too loud to calm her down and would squeeze her hand if she felt Adena might be drifting off into her own world. 

 

Kat grounded Adena, and she loved it. Michael on the other hand, she did not love. She prays it’s a one time thing as she opens her door and waves goodbye to Kat and Michael.

  
  
  


Turns out, Michael is in fact a one time thing because he tried to kiss Kat and she punched him in the throat. For a while Kat stops being the social butterfly, she stops dressing the way she used to, she stops being Kat for a while. It scares Adena. 

 

“Kat, are you okay?” Adena sits down on Kat’s bed and starts picking at the threads of her sweater.

 

“I’m great! Why?” Kat tosses a pen across the room and onto her desk with a lil fist pump when it lands without rolling off. 

 

Adena shrugs, “You just seem off, after the Michael incident you just have been odd.” 

 

Kat comes to a stop in her room, choosing instead of pacing to sit next to Adena on her bed. “I just, I thought everyone was being nice because they were nice but it turns out that they just wanted  _ other _ things.” 

 

“Well then forget them.” Adena turns, sitting criss-cross as she talks to Kat. “Don’t change because people aren’t nice. Just continue to be you, be the Kat you want to be and then people will follow. If everyone is mean that just makes more mean people, but if you can stand up and be nice then others will try too.” She brushes some of Kat’s hair to the side.

 

Kat smiles at Adena then leans forward until both of them are falling onto the bed, Kat’s head on Adena’s shoulder as they lay down. Kat’s hands play with Adena’s as they end up spending the rest of the day in bed being lazy as can be. 

 

The butterflies return but they come without nerves this time, just a smile and the sound of both girls falling asleep. 

 

—

 

High school is difficult.

 

Adena sits on the sidelines, her camera resting below her chin as she keeps double checking the scene in front of her before taking the shot. She crouches onto the grass, her camera following the path of a soccer ball as it flies across the field with precision. 

 

She takes multiple shots before standing up and walking towards the bleachers to actually watch the game. The cap of her camera snaps on and she finds a spot in the third row of the metal bleachers that has a good view of Kat running up and down the field as the game continues. She isn’t a sports fan but she joins in the cheers and hurrahs as Kat sends a ball flying towards the goal, sneaking just past the goalkeeper’s underarm and hitting the back of the net.

 

Kat jumps up from the center of the field, her teammates running over to pat her on the head or hug her as the whistle for reset calls. Kat hustles back to the bottom half of the home side’s semi-circle, her head swings to the side and eyesight lands right on Adena. They share a wave and a big smile as the game starts up again after the goal was scored. 

 

Her hands go to her camera as Kat begins to run around the opponents and towards the ball. She aims it towards Kat’s feet and is about to have the perfect shot until she feels the left side of her body being jolted as someone sits next to her. 

 

“Oh god, I’m so sorry.” The young man who sat next to Adena apologizes and looks sincerely sorry so she nods her head in acceptance and goes back to taking photos.

 

“You’re Adena El-Amin right?  _ The  _ school photographer.” He asks incredulously and with a wide smile as he recognizes her.

 

“Yes, I am.” Her short answer allows her to not look away from the camera.

 

“You’re also a friend of Kat’s right?” Adena does not like where this is going. 

 

“Right again.”

 

“Do you know if she’s seeing anybody?” Adena definitely does not like where this is going.

 

“Um, pardon me?” She looks away from the camera for a moment and settles it on her lap.

 

“Is she dating someone?” He asks again while still watching Kat on the field. 

 

“No, not that I’m aware of.” She watches him watching Kat and gets a twisted feeling in her stomach.

 

“Great. I have her in my AP Psych class and she’s so cool.” He stops watching the game and in turn looks at his phone and social media.

 

Adena just nods her head and tries to go back to taking photos of Kat and the soccer team but something gnaws at the back of her mind the entire time. 

 

After an hour the whistle blows and the game ends with a single point across the board, Kat’s goal. Adena stands, walking away from the man who she didn’t even get the name of and towards Kat on the other end of the field. The soccer team is in their end game huddle, Adena takes the opportunity to take a few photos for the school as they finish up the cheer. Some walk past Adena with a polite hello and pose for a shot or just try to do a candid as they all head off the pitch. 

 

Kat waits until Adena is done before the two meet together with a quick hug. Adena caps her camera and lets it fall to her side as they walk to Kat’s car. Hand in hand as usual.

 

“What were you doing talking to Deric?” Kat asks as she pops the trunk to put her gear away. Adena helps her lift the team tent and slides it into the back of the trunk.

 

“That’s his name!” Adena patted her hands to rid of the small dirt stains from the bags. “He sat down next to me and asked if you were seeing anyone.”

 

“That’s weird.” Kat shrugs her shoulders and slides into the driver’s seat.

 

Adena looks at her with a furrowed brow. “Is it?” When she sees that Kat doesn’t understand she continues, “You’re beautiful and a girl. He’s a guy.” 

 

Kat beamed her blinding smile at Adena, “You think I’m beautiful?” 

 

“Oh my, just drive.” Adena chuckles and lightly pushes at Kat’s arm as she pulls out of the parking lot and into the street.

 

“No, seriously, do you think I’m beautiful?” Kat looks at Adena through the corner of her eyes.

 

“Kat, are you kidding? You’re gorgeous.” Adena and Kat had talked about Adena’s sexuality and that she wouldn’t do anything Kat wasn’t comfortable but Kat was never uncomfortable with their friendship especially when it came to sexualities or anything. The part about Adena possibly being head over heels in love with Kat, though? That stayed tucked in Adena’s private mind box.

 

“Well, you are too. Don’t forget that.” Kat smiles and reaches across the console to hold Adena’s hand. 

 

They make it to Coldstone only moments later. Adena goes to take their usual seat at the fourth booth in the center. Kat comes back seconds later, one large vanilla and one large chocolate ice cream bowls with a mess of different toppings on it in hand. 

 

The two eat their own ice cream until that gets boring and they try to steal scoops from the other’s bowl. It turns into full on war when Kat tosses a gummy bear at Adena to get her to stop scooping vanilla ice cream. 

 

A cough interrupts their friendly war, both look up to see Deric leaning against the booth and looking down at Kat. 

 

“Hey, Kat. Me and a bunch of other people form class are going to go to the lake after ice cream, would you want to come?” Adena goes silent and tries to bring her shoulders closer together, making herself as small as possible. “Adena can totally come as well.” 

 

She just feels odd being handed an invitation because she’s friends with Kat. “You go ahead Kat, I’m just a few blocks from home.”

 

She doesn’t hera Kat’s plea for her to come back, she just opens the door of Coldstone and begins walking down the street. She doesn’t shed a tear, sniffling her tears back as she heads home for the day. She does startle when a car pulls up and barely jumps the curb. Kat steps out of the driver’s seat and walks around to Adena.

 

“Adena, what the hell?”Adena’s face is still looking down, Kat runs her hands up her arms to try and get Adena’s face to rise but it stays down. “Hey, why did you leave me? I wasn’t going to go with them. It’s Sleepover Sunday remember?” 

 

Adena sniffles and finally looks up. “I just feel like I’m holding you back. You could go out and do all these cool high school experiences instead of just being with-”

 

“With who? With my best friend? With the one person who knows that I prefer blueberries to strawberries and lemonade rather than orange juice in the morning? With the person who somehow takes amazing photos of me even on my worst days?” Kat flaps her arms in the air trying to make her point. “I like hanging out with you. Not because you’re my friend but because I like  _ you _ . No one can be Adena El-Amin, greatest photographer in the world.”

 

Adena chuckles and it brings a smile to Kat’s face. “Good, now can we go before i get a ticket for hopping the curb?”

 

Adena laughs again and follows Kat to the car so they can go and have their weekly sleepover. 

  
  
  


They’re laying against Adena’s couch in her basement theatre room. Kat’s head is resting on Adena’s shoulder while their hands tangle together in their laps. A blanket drapes across both of them but has fallen from their shoulders to their chest. Adena looks down at Kat, slowly as not to disturb her. But apparently as Adena had the thought to look at Kat, Kat thought to look at Adena.

 

They stare at each other for a moment, the tv becoming a background noise to nothing. Adena doesn’t know what to do but she knows she doesn’t expect Kat to raise her head and place a soft, chaste kiss on her lips. It makes them both close their eyes at the sensation, Adena feels like she’s buzzing as Kat pulls away a centimeter.

 

Kat lets out a half-hearted chuckle, “Sorry.”

 

“No, it’s-” Adena opens her eyes again and clears her throat. “It’s fine. I just didn’t know you were-”

 

“Me neither. I just had a feeling when you ran off. I wanted to know what it was.” Kat says as she sits straighter, her eyes on Adena’s lips the entire time. 

 

“Does this mean you’re, you know?” Adena can’t stop looking at Kat watching her lips.

 

“I don’t know. I definitely still like guys, but I also really, really like you.” Kat doesn’t allow Adena to respond because she kisses her again, this time Adena is prepared and can respond with an open mouth and ready lips. 

 

—

 

College is difficult. 

 

Kat and Adena chose two different universities. On two different sides of the world. On different time zones. Alone. 

 

They knew long distance would be hard to maintain, they also felt in their bones that this wasn’t the end for them. Adena hopes her bones are right. Each day puts more and more distance between the two.

 

Adena’s classes all fall right when Kat is home and heading to bed. Her lunch is in the middle of Kat’s sleep. Kat’s breakfast is when Adena is asleep. Kat’s lunch is when Adena sleeps. Their schedules are polar opposite. It makes their skype talks go from three times a week to twice to once to once a month. Eventually Adena can’t remember the last time they skyped. It hurts.

 

She can scroll through social media every once in awhile and see a quick shot Kat took of some scenery outside her dorms. Kat likes the photo and sends it via direct message with a quick comment.

 

_ adena.elamin has sent you a photo. _

_ adena.elamin: beautiful photo <3 _

 

She tosses her phone down before walking around her dorm and preparing for her morning walk. When she’s done she checks her messages and sees Kat’s reply.

 

_ thekatmonster: not as beautiful as yours <3 hope all is well. miss you _

 

Adena’s smile fades at the last part, she wishes Kat was here in her arms or she was with Kat in a bed, under the blankets, blocking out the world.

 

_ adena.elamin: all is going well. I miss you too. when do you get a week off, maybe we could plan something? _

 

She waits five minutes for a reply, upon receiving nothing she sighs and slides her phone into her back pocket. The day goes on even if Kat’s response is lost to the world. 

 

Sooner or later their messages just become short little notes, ‘ _ miss you <3’  _ or  _ ‘good morning :)’ _ . Even then, the messages begin to lose emojis. They begin to lose accompanying photos. They eventually lose messages all together. Their feelings conveyed through random likes on instagram. Adena has learned that Kat will scroll as far back as to highschool photos, unlike one and relike it in order for Adena to know she’s thinking of that. But even that isn’t something that sticks. 

 

Weeks turn to months which turn to years and the coded likes on instagram stop, Adena’s getting a following on twitter and instagram so she starts posting more professionally. The likes become so crowded that if Kat had liked it, Adena would not notice. 

 

She continues to excel in classes and outside activities, each photo brings a fading image of Kat to her mind. She hopes she can see Kat before that photo completely fades, she hopes Kat misses her just as much as she misses Kat. 

 

—

 

Scarlet Magazine is difficult. 

 

A non-feminist magazine flaunting itself around with the word feminist in all it’s articles. At the rate they use the word it will lose meaning. Or at least that’s what she thought. 

 

She didn’t expect her manager to go behind her and allow the Scarlet Social Media director to come to her newest photo shoot.

 

She hears the door open and lets out a heavy sigh. As she hands the camera to her assistant she turns on her heel to face the intruder only to be figuratively smacked in the face. In front of her stands the one thing that has been missing her whole life. 

 

The one thing that inspired all of her photos and all of her collections. The one thing that taunted her every day for the past nine years since they separated at high school. 

 

Kat Edison looks at Adena El-Amin with a smile that could blind anyone who looks at it and a soft chuckle as she extends her hand. 

 

“I’m Kat Edison.” She says with a soft smirk.

 

Adena wants to toss her head back and laugh. She wants to thank her bones for being right. She wants to kiss Kat. She settles for rolling her eyes and taking Kat’s hand. “Adena El-Amin.” 

 

“You know, I knew someone with that exact same name when I was younger.” Kat took a few steps forward to be closer to Adena. 

 

Adena smiles as she feels Kat stretch to take her hand, their fingers locking like a jigsaw puzzle that was missing one piece and now is complete. A finger rubs soothing circles on the back of Adena’s hand and she almost melts there in the studio.

 

“You should tell me all about her.” Adena smiles, her head turns to her workers and model. “Everyone can take the rest of the day off.”

 

No one argues, they all begin to pack their things and head on out. Kat and Adena stand in the empty studio in silence far after the last person had left. 

 

“I never thought I would see you again.” Adena lets her forehead fall against Kat’s. 

 

Kat smiles with closed eyes. “I knew we would find each other. Just never knew when. I missed you so much.”

 

“It’s Sunday.” Kat nods against Adena’s forehead, her eyes not opening so Adena continues. “We missed a lot of sleepover Sunday’s. Maybe we could catch up?”

 

Kat smiled her blinding smile, their lips constantly grazing and ghosting over each other. “Yeah.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Adena smiled at the confirmation, she leaned forward to make deliberate contact with Kat’s lips. The two molding into each other and reconnecting with the other like a sailor and the sea, an inevitable reconnection.

 

Life is difficult, but Kat. Kat is simple.

**Author's Note:**

> as always you can find me on tumblr!
> 
> (i know i change urls like a baby changes diapers but im currently daensas.tumblr.com)


End file.
